“What was that?” the girls heard him mutter. “I thought I heard someone outside.”
“Quick! Crouch down or he’ll see us!” Penny warned, pulling Sally to the ground.
Claude Harper, a sallow-faced man in dirty leather jacket, appeared at the window. To the alarm of the girls, he thrust up the sash. In plain view, should he peer down over the ledge, they held their breath.
The man, however, gazed toward the boat docks. “I don’t see anyone,” he reported to his companions. “I was sure I heard something—” he broke off, ending sharply: “And I did too!”
“What is it, Claude?” his wife called.
“Anyone been here this afternoon?” he demanded.
“Nary a soul until you came.”
“Take a look at those shoetracks in the sand!”
Hearing the words, Penny and Sally gazed behind them. From the bush on the beach to the wall where they crouched, led a telltale trail.
“I’ll go outside and look around!” Harper said to his wife. He slammed down the window.